Early the next morning, all the contestants gathered in the castle located at the center of the Iron Country.
It was a vast square, surrounded by towering walls and a solid granite floor, built to withstand the fierce cold winds and even strong attacks.
Hundreds of heavily armed samurai stood guard around the square. It was clear that the Iron Country had gone to great lengths to ensure the security of this competition.
Of course, this level of rigor was one of the reasons why the Iron Country had managed to maintain its detached status as a neutral nation.
The Jōnin leaders of each ninja village watched from the stands surrounding the square.
Standing in the center was the most prominent leader of the Iron Country—Mifune, the General of the Samurai!
He was the same man who had once fought Hanzō of the Salamander in a one-on-one battle. Though he had lost, he had still earned Hanzō's respect.
Simu stared at Mifune with gleaming eyes, an expression of admiration and eagerness on his face.
Kushina noticed and immediately felt uneasy.
"Oi, what are you staring at Mifune for?" she asked warily.
Simu sighed enviously. "Don't you think the title of 'General' sounds cool?"
"General?" Kushina frowned.
She really couldn't understand what was going on inside Simu's head.
In this world, no other country besides the Iron Country had the position of General.
Simu rubbed his hands together and said excitedly, "I wonder if that old man, the Third Hokage, would let me be a General."
Then, looking at Kushina, he grinned.
"Aren't you aiming to become Hokage? If you make it, can you give me the title of General?"
Kushina rolled her eyes, completely speechless.
On the other hand, Uchiha Fugaku scoffed coldly.
"The position of Hokage isn't something to be treated like a joke."
Simu glanced at him. As expected, a typical old-fashioned guy.
"Third Hokage still peeks at the women's bathhouse every day with his crystal ball…"
The moment Simu blurted that out, Kushina panicked and quickly covered his mouth with her hand.
It was one thing to joke about this back in Konoha, but saying it in front of people from other villages was completely unacceptable!
Even Uchiha Fugaku's face darkened with embarrassment.
Though he wasn't particularly fond of the Third Hokage, he certainly didn't want Konoha's reputation being tarnished in front of foreigners.
Simu coughed and continued, "Anyway, I have no interest in being Hokage. It's a tiring job, full of responsibilities, and you have to work overtime every day. Sounds like a nightmare."
Fugaku didn't even want to engage in this conversation anymore.
Why was this guy suddenly talking as if becoming Hokage was even an option for him?
Where did he get such confidence?
Mifune, standing at the center, seemed to have noticed the commotion in Konoha's area.
Jiraiya, sitting in the audience, sighed and covered his face in embarrassment.
Tsunade shook her head.
"Next time, don't invite me anywhere if Simu is coming along."
Cloud Shinobi's Jōnin, Doi, sneered.
"Konoha can't even manage a bunch of bratty kids. No discipline at all—let alone combat effectiveness."
Jiraiya and Tsunade, however, didn't seem the least bit bothered.
The weak get flustered. The strong don't need to care what others say.
The Jōnin from the other villages had already heard about the incident at the gate yesterday.
Now, they were looking at Doi with amused expressions.
Their gazes seemed to say: You can insult Konoha all you want, but if Konoha's so weak, then what does that make Cloud Shinobi, who got beaten up by them?
Doi's face darkened, and he couldn't find a response.
Finally, Mifune took the stage and announced,
"The first challenge of the joint exam is crossing the Snowstorm Mountain Range."
"Each team will be randomly placed at different locations within the mountains."
"At the start, every team will receive a scroll—either Yin or Yang."
"In the next twenty-four hours, your objective is to obtain both a Yin and Yang scroll and reach the Warrior Lighthouse at the center of the Snowstorm Mountains to pass."
"This is a friendly competition between villages. Killing is strictly prohibited."
"Anyone who violates this rule will be hunted down by the Iron Country samurai."
"If there are no questions, let the exam begin."
The samurai blindfolded the participants and led them into the snow-covered mountains.
The rules were similar to Konoha's Chūnin Exams.
However, in contrast to the original peaceful era, this test skipped the written exam entirely and went straight to actual combat.
It seemed that, in order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, the Iron Country had strictly prohibited killing.
Simu found it a bit disappointing.
If not for this rule, he could have wiped out Cloud Shinobi's younger generation in one go.
That would've been perfect payback for their previous attempt to kidnap Kushina.
Simu wasn't the type to hold grudges over small matters.
But if someone dared to lay their hands on the people he cared about, he would ensure they suffered the full force of his wrath.
Soon, the samurai removed Simu's blindfold.
The moment it was lifted, a freezing gust of wind and snow swept over him.
Simu, Kushina, and Minato had been placed in an unfamiliar, icy landscape.
Their trial had officially begun.
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